roots

[offthefloor]

ok, just watched this eppy last night, and i thought i had seen every episode of this show, and it turns out i was wrong, i had never seen this before i watched it from my boxset last night. do pbs stations in america not air this eppy for some reason? it really makes me wonder....

[Tiddles]

Some PBS stations do not air this ep because some people may be offended by the "black face" makeup the actors wear at the end. I don't think any of us here on this board find this scene offensive per se, (blackface was an artform, after all) but PBS panders to the easily offended , usually so "Roots" is often not shown along with a couple eps where people are stereotyped. AYBS? is far less offensive to me with its political incorrectness than many other shows, anyway. Another great reason to enjoy th DVD's and watch "Roots" all day long if you want. It's a cute ep and I love the toe-tapping music at the end!

[offthefloor]

thanks for the explanation, i didn't really see anything wrong with it myself when i watched it, it was a little strange to me, but not offensive, but PBS has always been extremely politically correct in their programing, so that makes sense

[Greg WibblyWobbly]

Most of it has been covered in this thread....
http://www.minki.net/aybsforum/viewtopic.php?highlight=roots&t=835

[minki]

Whether PBS shows the episode often depends on where they are located. I've never seen it aired when I lived in New York, and I'm told that the episode won't air in the deep South states.

Yet the episode appears regularly on North Carolina/Virginia PBS (which are in the South, btw), and in the Midwestern states.